Military and law enforcement operations in urban areas require combat units to obtain maximum information about the battle zone in order to enable correct planning of the combat operation as well as to provide constant awareness of potential threats during the operation.
When combat units operate in an urban area they are often exposed to very diversified threats, which include: enemy fire in open areas, sniper fire from surrounding buildings, a variety of explosive devices including land mines and improvised explosive devices, close-quarter combat, and more.
In today's battlefield, which is mostly located around civilian population concentrations, it is of great benefit to be able to locate the civilian population to avoid unintended “collateral damage” as well as to assess whether the civilian population is hostile and constitutes a potential threat to the combat unit.
Movement in streets and alleys is considered to have great potential danger since it is difficult to be sure of the nature of threats waiting around each corner. The assessment of such threats is especially important to infantry troops, which are the most vulnerable to most of the threats.
Special operations, which usually involve clearing buildings or rescuing hostages, are also characterized by great danger and require the combat unit to have good understanding of the nature and position of hostile elements inside the building. Better understanding of the layout of hostile elements inside the building can help in proper planning of the storming approach and may save lives of the combatants as well as the hostages.
At the same time that combat units are exposed to enemy threats, they sometime become a victim of “friendly fire” when combat units of the same side mistakenly take each other as the enemy and engage in combat.
Due to the large number and nature of threats on combat units operating in urban areas, it is of great benefit to provide combat units with the ability to obtain real-time reconnaissance of the combat zone, preferably from an elevated position, so that the combat unit will have an awareness of the entire combat zone, with the ability to detect threats from various locations and assess the potential of unseen threats when planning the unit's movements.
The prior art has provided several reconnaissance means which provide reconnaissance from an elevated position. The use of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) is widespread and is used to provide both real-time reconnaissance to the field-level unit as well as reconnaissance for intelligence purposes transmitted to remote command stations. UAVs can be operated either directly by the combat unit or may be launched from a remote location by air force or intelligence operators. The main disadvantages in operating UAVs are:                the need for skilled operators to launch and control the vehicle;        power sources that support operation of the vehicle as well as its payload;        potential loss of the UAV which, if it crashes in enemy territory, may result in exposure of sensitive technology; and        high procurement and maintenance costs.        
Another reconnaissance means presented by the prior art is a reconnaissance projectile developed by Israeli defense contractors. The projectile is designed to be launched from a mortar and provides reconnaissance during its several seconds of flight. This projectile provides visual information for a very limited period of time, which is not necessarily sufficient for an understanding of the events being observed. Once the projectile lands it is unrecoverable. In order to obtain more visual information it is necessary to launch additional projectiles.
The prior art does not provide a disposable reconnaissance means which can be used at all field levels, with quick operation and with no maintenance need or special training of the operator. Furthermore, the prior art does not present reconnaissance means other than UAVs or satellites which can transmit visual and additional information from an elevated position for significant periods of time.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide reconnaissance means in the form of an arrow that is designed to be shot from a rifle.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide reconnaissance means in the form of an arrow that is designed to stick into a wall after being shot, and to transmit data from its location by means of wireless communications.
Additional purposes of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.